[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by cuttingcrew

Thanks a lot MS and Gopi. It helps a lot.

Any other suggestion on hotels? Also I would like to do a short city tour (3/4 hrs). Any suggestion is welcomed. I have to do Marina beach, a must for my wife.

I second archish's views on the marina. It is very crowded and dirty, maybe you can just step out for a while to enjoy the cool evening breeze there and maybe crunch a few pattani sundal or thenga manga.

[Blue Thunder]

Originally Posted by cuttingcrew

... I have to do Marina beach, a must for my wife.

Good idea, but please go to the stretch of the beach closer to the light house (Gandhi statue / IG office is reference point), as the beach sand is cleaner, less crowded and the water is also cleaner. The other end of the Marina beach(Anna samadhi) is very crowded, dirty and the sea water is dirty (The dirty Cooum river meets the sea near this point and makes the beach water also dirty).

My suggestion would be to visit the Vivekananda Illam (house where Swami Vivekananda stayed, also known as Ice House), and go to stretch of the beach opposite this building.

[triedeverything]

I intend to drive down to Chennai tomorrow (1st visit by car). Please recommend economy places to stay near T nagar. There should be place to park too. I am basically going for a conference but am taking my family with me. So while I am at the conference, the plan is to allow them to go shopping. So it is important that the place we stay is walkable distance from T Nagar. The conference is in Taramani. I will need the room for a few hours as in all probability will return to Bangalore the same day.

[aargee]

You may want to check out this thread; contains a similar requirement of yours.

[iVictor]

Hey fellow bhp'ians,

I am packing up for my first short visit to Chennai to meet up with my foreign client's family. They will be coming directly from Singapore. This came up quick and after a sudden change of our prior schedules. So here I am seeking suggestions.

My (travel) plan is as follows:

1. Start from Bangalore Friday morning (train preferably, else volvo) and reach Chennai around evening - yet to book the ticket.
2. Saturday - Sunday Check out any beaches, shopping areas and other places.
3. Monday evening get on a flight off from Intl airport.

Could you please suggest a decent hotel, with a relaxed environment, preferably close to any beaches. They aren't too keen on staying in expensive Taj or Hyatts. Instead, prefer a clean hotel with consideration towards security & guest service.

What areas can we check out during our stay? I see there are a few shopping areas, movieplex, and lots of restaurants. Also, there's Gundy National park. Will all these be a lot to cover?

Also, what is the recommended way to travel in the city to/from the hotel?

Please advice folks.

[vaibhav_a_a]

Originally Posted by iVictor

Could you please suggest a decent hotel, with a relaxed environment, preferably close to any beaches. They aren't too keen on staying in expensive Taj or Hyatts. Instead, prefer a clean hotel with consideration towards security & guest service.

Hi iVictor, I travel to Chennai for work about once every two months. My company has put me up in different hotels and some others have stayed in better hotels so here're a few names and my impressions:

a) Keys Katti-Ma hotel- Kalakshetra Road, Thiruvanmiyur. About Rs 4000/-. Advantages, its' in Thiruvanmiyur and is a nice, though small hotel. Disadvantages: the road's dug up for some cable laying (this was in november) and the nearest beach is inhabited by fisherfolk.

b) Le Waterina hotel - Kottivakkam beach. About Rs 3500/-. The rooms arent as nice as Keys hotel but the location's amazing. The beach has a clean front. The food's OK.

c) Raintree hotel, St Mary's - someone else stayed for about Rs 5500/-. The hotel's great but not on the beach.

d) Lemontree hotel, close to Guindy. Good hotel and close to Guindy and airport. Dont remember how much it was.

My personal suggestion is that ideally, given the traffic congestion, simply take your client to a beach resort in Mahabalipuram. You'd escape the congestion, the rainy weather (ok not that but it's a lot better to be in Mahabalipuram).

-Vaibhav

I hit reply too soon and missed writing about the second, more interesting part:

option 1 - if you stick to Chennai with the time, given that your clients are coming from out of the country, they may appreciate a visit to more authentic / ethnic places as compared to a movieplex. Guindy national park is nice as well, though a small area. You may explore Dakshinachitra which is an artisan's village. Check if any exhibitions are on when your dates are. Their website is : http://www.dakshinachitra.net/ .

If you'd like to take them shopping for handicrafts, then within Chennai, the government emporium of Poompuhar (pronounced boom-bu-har) is located opposite the LIC building on Anna Salai. The website should give you a fair idea of what's on offer: http://www.poompuhar.org/. The excellent Victoria Technical Institute or VTI - a sort of collective of artisans from all over south India is located next to Spencer's plaza. http://www.vtichennai.com/. Check for opening and closing timings on the websites please. For silks, the area to visit is Panagal park - all the principal competitors of Silk trade: Nalli's, Pothys, RMKV etc are located here from what I recall. The area is crowded though and finding parking is a huge pain.

An authentic Chennai food experience is Murugan Idali Kadai - I've visited the shop on Besant nagar beach and the one more interior but cant recall the location.

Option 2: If you take them to Mahabalipuram you may visit Dakshinchitra en-route. Reach Mahabs and explore the various attractions - Arjuna's penance, shore temples, Chariot temples etc and call it a day. There're some handicraft emporia in Mahabs but no idea how good or bad they are. It's a great place for a day or even the entire weekend. If you're going there in the last week of December or early January a very worthwhile entertainment option is the Mammalapuram dance festival : http://www.tamilnadutourism.org/pdf/...0-%20Final.pdf.

No idea what your and their tastes are but this is what I think of when I think of quintessential Chennai!!

[vinu_h]

Originally Posted by iVictor

Hey fellow bhp'ians,

Could you please suggest a decent hotel, with a relaxed environment, preferably close to any beaches. They aren't too keen on staying in expensive Taj or Hyatts. Instead, prefer a clean hotel with consideration towards security & guest service.

What areas can we check out during our stay? I see there are a few shopping areas, movieplex, and lots of restaurants. Also, there's Gundy National park. Will all these be a lot to cover?

Also, what is the recommended way to travel in the city to/from the hotel?

Please advice folks.

Make sure to carry an umbrella and wellington boots. Expect 3 inches of water and incessant rain.

Palmgrove is where I lay my hat when I visit Chennai. Rs. 2,500 for double AC. Bang in the city centre. 7km from the beach.

Savera is another good one.

For a 1st timer, a taxi would be a much better option than an autorickshaw. Trust me, you don't want to haggle with an autorickshaw driver in Chennai.

1. Jump into a Chennai STC Volvo bus and go up the East Coast Road and back. You'll be along side the beach all along. You might get to see the remnants of the tsunami.
2. Dakshin Chitra - You could do this with your business associates.
3. Besant Nagar beach aka Elliots beach.
4. Express Avenue Mall - Royapettah
5. Zara Tapas Bar - My favourite

[Warwithwheels]

Originally Posted by iVictor

They will be coming directly from Singapore. This came up quick and after a sudden change of our prior schedules. So here I am seeking suggestions.

MGM Beach Resorts, ECR, Muttukad would be the ideal place to check in. It's little far from the Airport. But a perfect tourist destination. It has got a private beach too!!

Make sure you sure the MGR ECR Muttukad and not MGM Eastwords which is closeby the Muttukad resort. Here's their website which gives complete info including places to visit and tariff.

Website: http://mgm-hotels.com/index.php/mgm-...-beach-resorts

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by vaibhav_a_a

Hi iVictor, I travel to Chennai for work about once every two months.


An authentic Chennai food experience is Murugan Idali Kadai - I've visited the shop on Besant nagar beach and the one more interior but cant recall the location.

No idea what your and their tastes are but this is what I think of when I think of quintessential Chennai!!

That is a wonderful summary except for a little change. Madras -Chennai has never had much of rains. So no need to be armed with umbrellas.
Murugan Idli shop is overhyped. You might as well go to the regular jaunts like Anjappar hotel or Ponnusamy - again in Besant nagar.

For Hotels, I would suggest Esthel in Adyar (about Rs.3500/-) - Nice and clean hotel with Bar and sea food restaurant. This is where I bring in my European Associates for short stay. Never received any complaint from them.